He earned it. Last year, Johnson caught 96 passes for 1,681 yards and 16 touchdowns. He had five games with multiple touchdown receptions and surpassed 100 yards receiving on eight occasions.

Does Calvin Johnson deserve to be on the cover of Madden NFL 13?

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Does Calvin Johnson deserve to be on the cover of Madden NFL 13?

Yes

84.2%

No

15.8%

Total votes: 3,266

This is not to say that Newton couldn't have just as easily ended up on the cover. He had the greatest rookie season in NFL history last year, amassing over 4,000 yards passing and 700 yards rushing. There's no doubt some will consider his loss to Johnson an upset.

However, some Panthers fans are probably breathing a sigh of relief right about now. With Newton missing out on the Madden cover, he is safe from the dreaded cover curse. That's Megatron's problem to deal with now.

Will Megatron beat the curse? Few players do, but it bodes well for Johnson that Fitzgerald had a very good season the year he was on the cover. Johnson will look to be the next receiver to beat the curse.